CISER: Center for the Integration of STEM Education & Research

CISER Assessment

Assessment has been vitally important to the CISER STEM Education Program since its
inception in 1992. Part of the assessment consists of tracking students who are involved
in the program and documenting their achievements while they are in the program and
after they leave. These achievements consist of presentations at regional and national
conferences, publications in professional journals, and entry into and completion
of graduate programs. Other elements of assessment include reviewing annual reports
submitted by CISER Scholars and their faculty mentors; forming focus groups to study
the strengths and respond to the weaknesses of components of the program; and collecting
questionnaire data to better understand Scholars' experiences in research and science
teaching.

Citations of Work

One accessible source of information about the CISER STEM Education Program is the
book 'Creating Effective Undergraduate Research Programs in Science.'

Click on the book for details.

A formal assessment of the CISER Traveling Labs program, which is a component of the
CISER Pre-College Outreach grant component can be found at:

Dr. Taraban published an article in May, 2012, "Academic Factors that Affect Undergraduate
Research Experiences", in the Journal of Education Psychology that includes data he
has gathered from undergraduate researchers, including CISER Scholars. Dr. Taraban
et al found that peer support had a significant positive impact on the undergraduate
research experience. Find the abstract at Psycnet on APA.org.